Two Hearts Unite
by XoXStoryprincessXoX
Summary: Akane, the princess of Japan, always wanted to join the Japanese war ever since she was little, but her father wouldn't allow it, so she ran away to join the war. While she was at war, she didn't expect to fall in love with a soldier. RanmaxAkane stroy!
1. Chapter 1: The beginning

"_Oh…I'm so bored," a little girl at the age of 7, said all lonely. "Maybe I'll go ask my dad if he would play with me…" the little girl got up and walked to his father's room or as he was called, the king of Japan. The little girl walked through the long kingdom hallway and finally reached his father's room._

_The little girl opened the door slowly and spotted her father looking outside the window. _

"_Hello Father," The little girl greeted as she came in his room. _

_Her father turned and gave her a bright smile. "Hello Akane," the king said with a smile. _

_Akane walked to her father and asked, "Father, will you play with me?" _

"_Oh Akane, I can't, I have many things to do…"_

"_Oh," Akane said a little disappointed. _

"_But I'm checking on the kingdom's soldiers, would you come along and see what do they look like?" The king asked with a smile. _

_Akane returned a smile and nodded. The king took Akane's hand and together, they walked outside where the soldiers were practicing their moves for the war that is going on for years. _

"_So Akane, what do you think of the Japanese soldiers?" _

_Akane looked at the soldiers, her eyes were full of amazement, she loved the way the soldiers trained, it made her feel like she wanted to be one of them, to save Japan than to be a fancy, well behaved princess. _

"_Wow father, they're amazing!" Akane exclaimed still looking at the training soldiers. "I want to be one of them when I grow up!"_

_The king chuckled. "I'm sorry honey, but you are a princess and princesses don't fight in wars." The king said with a smile. "Come on, let's head back shall we?" _

_The king started walking away but Akane still stood in her same spot still watching the amazing soldiers. _

'_I will become a soldier someday…I will…' Akane thought._

…_._

Akane opened her eyes from the memory she just thought of now.

'This is the day,' Akane, now 16, thought to herself. 'Today, I'm going to ask my father if I could join the Japanese war.'

Akane looked at her father's big, golden door before her and took a deep breath. Akane walked in and saw her father sitting at his desk probably doing some work.

"Uh father?" Akane said nervously.

The king looked up from his work and smiled when he saw his daughter. "Hello honey," The king said with a bright smile.

"Uh, father?"

"Yes Akane?"

"Well uh, I've been thinking…for a while now and I was wondering if I could…well, join the war?"

The king stared at Akane intensely and stood up from his desk and walked to her. "Honey, remember what I told you?"

"Yes I know, princesses don't fight in wars, but I just want to give it a shot, I want to be more than a princess, please give me a chance."

The king sighed. "I'm sorry, Akane, but I can't allow that, I can't allow my little girl to go to war and get hurt."

"But dad, I'm _not_ a little girl anymore; I can handle it, please!"

"No Akane, I forbid it."

"But dad,"

"I said that's enough, end of discussion."

"Dad, if you would just-"

"I said end of discussion!"

Akane couldn't take it anymore, she said something that she would never forget, "I hate you dad!"

Akane ran out of her father's room and ran to her room. She shut her door and locked it. That night, she went to bed without talking to her father and without eating dinner. Akane cried into her pillow.

'Why is my father _still_ treating me like a baby,' Akane thought. 'Well I am not a baby!'

Akane slipped out of her bed and looked out of her window.

'Tomorrow morning, they will be leaving for war…' Akane thought. 'What am I suppose to do, if I do go as a princess, the soldiers will soon recognize me and immediately send me back to my father…' Akane thought for a minute then thought of something that would work.

'I know, I will disguise myself as a guy and go to war…' Akane smiled at the idea she has.

She walked to her drawer and looked inside. She found her scissors to cut her dolls' hair.

She carefully cut her long beautiful hair and made it short (The hair style from the show Ranma ½). She tied it in a pony tail. Then she quietly went outside and inside a shrine that had so many armor. After she put on armor, then she went inside her room again and wrote her father a note. Then left in the morning with the soldiers to go to war.

'I'm sorry father…I hope you can forgive me…' Akane thought sadly.


	2. Chapter 2: Meeting Ranma the leader!

"Hey wake up,"

Akane slowly woke up and saw a man looking down at her. Akane got up quickly and yawned.

"Huh, where, where are we?" asked Akane.

"We're in camp right now." said the man.

"Oh, we're here?" Akane quickly got up and ran outside the cart that she was traveling in.

Akane gasped in amazement, it was like a camp, but with a lot of people training. Akane looked around the whole camp. She looked around when a loud soldier yelled, "MEN, GET IN LINE!"

Everyone did as they were told and stood in a perfect straight line. Akane, who was dumbfounded, didn't know what was she was supposed to do. The loud soldier looked at Akane and walked up to her slowly.

"Did you even hear what I just said?" asked the soldier eyeing Akane.

"Oh uh I…" Akane stuttered.

"GET IN LINE!"

Akane, frightened, did as she was told and stood in line with all the other men.

'Wow, that man is frightening!' Akane thought.

"Don't worry, you'll get used to it," said a guy, about her age, next to her.

"Have…have you been here before?" Akane asked the guy that was next to her.

"No, this is my third day here…"

"Oh…"

"ALRIGHT LISTEN UP," the loud soldier yelled as he watched the lined up soldiers. "There is a big war going on right now and we need to protect this country. You will be trained for the past month, but I will not be training you, our new leader, Ranma Saotome, will be training, I wish you good luck!"

Then the loud soldier left leaving all the men still standing in line.

After a few moments, a tall guy with his black hair tied into a pigtail walked up to the men who were standing in line. He had a white shirt, blue pants, he looked like he had muscles, and he had blue eyes.

"Alright listen up, my name is Ranma Saotome and I will be training you in fighting," said Ranma. "Alright, let's get started." Then Ranma took off his shirt. Akane blushed when she looked at his muscles.

"Now everyone, do a push up!" commanded Ranma. Everyone did as they were told and did a push up. As for Akane, she just looked at everyone.

"Hey, you there!" Ranma yelled. Ranma walked up to Akane. Akane could feel her heart beat louder and louder every step that Ranma took. Once he got close enough, he asked, "Why aren't you doing any push-ups?"

"Oh…uh…I…" Akane stuttered.

"And who are you, what is your name?"

"Oh my name is Ak-" Akane just remembered that she couldn't say her name or else he would send her home.

"'Ak' what, tell me!"

"Uh…Ak…"

Akane tried to think of a name then remembered what she used to call her doll when she was little.

"Uh, Akihiro!"

"Akihiro?"

"Uh, yeah, Akihiro…"

Ranma took out his scroll and tried to look up her name but couldn't find it.

"Akihiro, I don't see your name."

"Oh I…" Akane tried to think of something quick then thought of something. "My…my father forgot to sign me up!"

Ranma looked at his scroll once again and sighed. "Fine you can stay…but make sure your father signs up in time…"

Akane felt happiness inside of her; she can't believe that she is finally going to military soldier!

"But keep in mind," Ranma said as he moved closer to her face. Akane blushed at how cute he looked. "I'm in charge and you have to do what I say, got that?"

Akane nodded her head and said, "Yes sir!" Then did the military pose (Which means putting the side of your hand on your forehead, if I'm explaining it right)

Ranma sighed and said, "You know you don't have to do that. That pose was last year." Then Ranma walked off.

Everyone chuckled at how Akane did the pose. She quickly undid the pose and looked down embarrassed.

"Yup, that's Ranma for you," said a guy who talked to her earlier. "But like I said, you'll get used to it…"

"Is he…really tough?" Akane asked scared a little.

"Yes, real tough," said the guy. "Everyone said that his father was tough on him when he was just a young boy…"

'Oh…poor guy…' Akane thought looking at Ranma while he was teaching someone about martial arts.

"Oh, I forgot to introduce myself," said the guy. "My name is Ryoga, Ryoga Hibiki."

Ryoga stick out his hand waiting for a handshake from Akane.

"Oh, my name is Aka-err I mean, Akihiro…" Akane said as she gladly took his hand and shook it.

"Well it's nice to meet you, Akihiro…" Ryoga said smiling.

'Wow, he seems like a really nice guy…' Akane thought smiling.

"EVERYONE LINE UP, RANMA WILL START TEACHING MARTIAL ARTS!" yelled the loud soldier.

"Come on; let's go line up before we get into trouble." Ryoga said with a smile.

"Oh…okay…" Akane said as she followed Ryoga.

Everyone lined up and waited for Ranma's teaching for martial arts.

"Alright, lesson number 1; we will be learning how to defend ourselves, I need a volunteer…"

Ranma looked at the soldiers, trying to find one person to volunteer. He looked and looked and stopped looking when he laid eyes on Akane.

"Akihiro, get up here!"

Akane gasped when she heard her name being called by Ranma.

"M...me?"

"No Mr. Clause, of course you, come up here!"

Akane slowly stepped out of the line and walked up to Ranma. She gulped at how tall and strong he looked.

"Listen up, I will kick Akihiro here and he is going to try to defend himself." Ranma got into his fighting position. Akane was really confused at what she was doing. Then all of a sudden, she felt a kick on her face. She fell down backwards and bumped her head.

"Oh my gosh, is he okay?" asked one of the soldiers. Soon, all of the soldiers gathered around her and looked down at her.

"Hey Akihiro, are you okay?" Ranma asked kneeling down next to Akane.

Akane's vision went blurry, then normal, then blurry, soon, she blacked out.


	3. Chapter 3: A friend in need

"Hey Akihiro, you awake?"

Akane slowly opened her eyes and saw Ryoga sitting next to her. Akane sat up slowly.

"Ryoga, what are you doing here?" Akane asked.

"I asked leader Ranma if I could go visit you…"

"Oh…"

"So how are you feeling? Is your head still hurting?"

"No, its fine, thanks Ryoga for asking…"

"No problem, I mean, what are friends for?"

"Friends?"

"Yeah, we're friends aren't we?"

"Oh uh yeah, sure we are!"

Akane gave Ryoga a smile and Ryoga returned a smile as well.

'Friends…' Akane thought smiling to herself. 'I've never had friends before...now that I think about it…'

*Flashback*

"_Father, may I go outside and play with those girls?" 5 year old Akane asked as she looked outside her window._

"_No honey, you can't…" her father said._

"_Why not?" _

"_I don't want you to get hurt, you must stay here…"_

"_Oh…okay…"_

*End of Flashback*

'My father never lets me go out and play with other girls in the village,' Akane thought. 'He never trusts me outside by myself…I guess he was just protecting me…'

"I'll be right back; I'll get some water for you…" Ryoga said as he stood up from his seat. Then Ryoga left the Akane's tent to get some water.

Akane sighed. 'It's such a wonderful feeling having friends…'

Akane looked down and saw that she was still wearing the armor that she found back home.

'Man, this thing makes me sweat...maybe I'll take it off…' Akane thought. Akane took off her top armor off and sighed.

"Ahhh, it feels so good to take that heavy thing off…" Akane said.

"Hey Akihiro, are you awake?" said someone outside of her tent.

"Oh, uh…who is this?" Akane asked.

"This is Ranma, may I come in?"

Akane started freaking out.

'Oh no, if he comes in and sees my boobs, than he will find out that I'm a girl and send me back home!" (And yes, she is wearing a bra!)

"Uh, just a second!"

Akane looked around to trying to find something to cover her body. She looked down and saw her bed sheet. She quickly covered up and yelled, "Come in!"

Ranma came in Akane's tent and sat down next to her.

"Hey Akihiro…" Ranma said.

"Uh, hey leader Ranma…" Akane said looking down.

"Akihiro, I'm so sorry for hurting you," Ranma said sincerely.

"Oh…uh…it's okay!"

Ranma chuckled a little. "I guess this is your first time in war…I've been through that…"

"Oh really?"

"Yeah, it was pretty tough," Ranma said. "I got hurt everywhere…but after a while…I got used to it…"

Akane placed a hand on her chest. "Oh my…"

"Akihiro, is your chest hurting, do you want me to take a look at it?"

"N-n-no, no thank you!" Akane said backing away.

Ranma chuckled a little more. "Alright, if you say so…" Ranma said smiling.

Akane blushed at Ranma's smile.

'Wow, his smile is so cute…' Akane thought still blushing.

"Ranma, where are you!" said a female voice outside Akane's tent that almost sounds like Chinese.

"I'm in here, honey!" Ranma called out.

After a few moments, a girl with blue hair came in Akane's tent carrying some food.

"Ranma, I made you something to eat!" the girl with blue hair said as she walked up to Ranma.

"Thank you honey…" Ranma said smiling.

The girl looked away from Ranma and looked down at Akane who was looking at them.

"Who is he?" the girl asked.

"Shampoo, this is Akihiro, Akihiro, this is Shampoo, my fiancée." Ranma said smiling.

'What, he has a fiancée?' Akane thought.

"It's nice to meet you Akihiro!" Shampoo said with a small smile.

"Oh…it's nice to meet you too Shampoo…" Akane said giving a fake smile.

"Come on Ranma, you and Shampoo must plan the wedding…" Shampoo said with a smile.

"Alright honey," Ranma said returning a smile. "See you later, Akihiro…" Then Ranma left.

'Ranma has a…fiancée?' Akane thought sadly. 'Well I'm not surprised…I mean…he's good looking and everything…'

Akane sighed.

"Hey Akihiro, I'm back with the water…" Ryoga said as he entered Akane's tent.

"Oh thank you Ryoga…" Akane said with a smile.

"You're welcome," Ryoga said with a smile. "I just saw Ranma walk out of your tent, is everything alright, he didn't get mad did he?"

Akane shook her head. "No, actually, he was very nice to me…."

"Really," Ryoga said. "He's really nice most of the time when he's not leader…"

"Oh…I see…"

"Well anyways, practice starts again tomorrow morning at 6 A.M," Ryoga explained. "I have to go to sleep, see you tomorrow, Akihiro!" Then Ryoga left Akane's tent.

Akane sighed and drank the water that Ryoga got for her.

'Such a nice friend I have…friend…' Akane thought smiling.

…

Akane woke up in the morning when she heard the sound of a trumpet playing outside in the morning. She woke up moaning at the time she had to get up. Akane isn't used to getting up in the morning, she gets to wake up whenever she wants to, not wake up with force.

Akane sat up on her bed and yawned. She gently rubbed her eyes and got out of bed. Before she went outside of her tent, she quickly remembered that she needed to wear something that will cover chest. She put on her heavy armor and walked over to Ryoga's tent.

"Uh Ryoga, are you awake?" Akane called through his tent.

"Yeah, who is it?" Ryoga called back.

"Uh, it's Aka- I mean Akihiro!"

"Oh, come in!"

Akane walked in Ryoga's tent and saw that he was doing some push-ups…shirtless!

Akane blushed and quickly looked away.

"Hey Akihiro," Ryoga said as he stopped doing his push-ups. "Is there something you need?" Ryoga walked up to Akane who was still looking away.

"Oh uh…yes, I need something," Akane said as she was still looking down at the ground. "I…I to borrow some clothes…apparently I left them at…my house so…can I please borrow some?"

"Uh sure," Ryoga said. Ryoga walked away from Akane to look through his luggage. When he found some clothes, he walked back to Akane and said, "Here you go…"

He gave Akane a plain white t-shirt and a blue Chinese pants (the kind that Ranma wears).

"Thank you Ryoga, I appreciate it!" Akane said with a smile then left his tent.

"You're welcome Akihiro!" Ryoga called after her and smiled.

Akane entered her tent and quickly put it on.

'It's a good thing Ryoga gave me a big shirt so no one with see my chest…' Akane thought with a sigh of relief.

After she put on Ryoga's clothes, she went outside and found everyone standing in line. Akane found Ryoga standing in line waving at her to come stand next to him. Akane nodded at him and ran to the line and stood next to Ryoga.

"ATTENTION!" yelled the loud soldier. Then everyone stood in a straight line. Akane was confused at first at why everyone was standing in perfect line when they heard the soldier yell "attention" but did what the other soldiers did.

"Now leader Ranma will give you direction, so PAY ATTENTION!" With that said, the loud soldier left and Ranma walked in.

"Alright soldiers, this is day two of martial arts practice," Ranma said. "Today we will be learning how to use these weapons to use during battle." Ranma then walked over to a bucket that has sticks. He took one out and showed it to the soldiers.

"While using this weapon, you have to strike at your opponent, like this." Then Ranma strike at the dummy that was in front of him.

"Now I want you to try it by yourself. Grab the weapon and start practicing." ordered Ranma then left.

Everyone grabbed the weapon and started practicing.

Akane grabbed the stick and was clearly confused on what she was doing.

'Why am I always so confused in stuff like this?' Akane thought looking at her weapon.

Akane then started twirling the stick like a baton. Without noticing, Ranma watched Akane. Ranma chuckled to himself at how silly Akane looked.

'What is he doing?' Ranma thought to himself. He sighed and walked up to Akane.

"Do you need any help?" Ranma asked.

Startled, Akane fell backwards and landed on her butt.

"Oh uh me, uh, no…" Akane said blushing.

"You know, I can help you practice…" Ranma said.

"Oh, uh, really?"

"Yeah," Ranma said with a smile. "Meet me here at 5 o' clock and I'll help you practice…"

Then Ranma walked away.

'He's going to help…me?'


	4. Chapter 4: Training with Ranma

'Gosh I'm so nervous,' Akane thought as she was walking to the camp site where practice was held. 'What if he finds out I'm a girl and what if I act stupid in front of him, then I will never face him again!'

Once she reached her destination, she found Ranma practicing his punches and kicks, which made Akane blush mad red because his shirt is off!

'Wow, he looks so…hot…' Akane thought almost drooling at the muscles he has. A second later, Ranma turned around and saw Akane standing there. He stopped his punches and kicks and walked over to her.

"Hey Akihiro, ready to practice on using your weapon?" Ranma asked.

"Oh…uh…y-yes…I guess…" Akane said looking down. She didn't want him to notice her looking at his muscles.

"Alright, let's get started," Ranma said as he threw the weapon at her. Akane caught the weapon and nodded. "Hold your weapon like this." Ranma instructed. He placed one hand at the end of the stick and the other end and held it right in front of him. Akane nodded and did what Ranma told her to do.

"When an enemy's weapon attacks you, block yourself with your weapon and push it off; when you attack an enemy, you strike him with the end of the stick, like this."

"Oh I see…" Akane said looking at her weapon.

"Alright, now let's practice." Ranma said as he got into his fighting position. Akane got nervous when she saw him into his fighting position but got into her fighting position. Ranma ran up and attacked, but Akane ran away and hid behind a tree.

Ranma stopped running and looked at Akane strangely.

'Oh no, now I can never face him again, I'm so embarrassed!' Akane thought hugging the tree that she hid behind.

All of a sudden, she heard a chuckle, then a laugh. Akane looked at Ranma and saw that Ranma was laughing. Akane smiled and laughed with him, soon, they were laughing together.

After a while of laughing, Ranma said, "Wow, I've never laughed this much in years, you are so funny!"

Akane looked down embarrassed. Ranma looked down at her, smiled, and ruffled her hair.

Akane looked up again and smiled.

"Come on, let's keep practicing…" Ranma said smiling and walked back to his spot. Akane nodded and got into her fighting position.

"Alright Akihiro, this time don't run away,"

"Okay…"

"Ready?"

"Yes!"

Then Ranma started running towards her. Akane closed her eyes and quickly held her weapon in front of her. She felt a vibration on her weapon; she looked up and saw that she protected herself from the weapon that Ranma attacked her with.

Akane gasped and said, "Oh my gosh, I did it, I did it, I did it!" Akane was jumping up and down from all the excitement she felt inside of herself.

Ranma smiled. "Yes you did," Ranma responded. "See? If you have courage in yourself, you can do it…"

Akane looked up and smiled. "Thank you, leader Ranma!"

Ranma smiled once more and responded, "You don't have to call me that, you can just call me Ranma…"

"Okay lead-err, I mean, Ranma!"

Ranma chuckled a bit. Ranma was about to leave until Akane asked, "Ranma, um, may I ask you something?"

Ranma turned around and said, "Yes, what is it?"

"Can you...help me practice my fighting?" Akane asked looking at the floor.

Ranma smiled and nodded. "Sure,"

Akane smiled and said, "Thank you!"

Then Ranma and Akane practiced fighting.

…...

"Wow that was some good practice!" Akane said wiping away her sweat.

"That sure was Akihiro…" Ranma said also wiping his sweat away.

"Uh, Ranma…I would like to say…thank you for helping me…"

"You're welcome, it's no problem!"

Well, better be heading back…"

Akane was just about to leave until she tripped. Akane could feel strong hand grab her arm and she fell on someone's strong, hard chest.

"Hey Akihiro, are you okay?" said the person who caught her. Akane looked up and saw Ranma smiling down at her. Akane blushed mad red when she realized that she was lying on top of Ranma.

"Uh…I…I…I'm alright…" Akane said looking down trying to hide her blush.

Ranma grabbed her hand and helped her up. "Are you sure you're alright?" Ranma asked.

"Yes, I'm alright," Akane said still looking away. "I…I have to go!" Then Akane started running away from Ranma.

"Akihiro," Ranma called out. Akane didn't hear, she was too embarrassed to hear.

Ranma watched as Akane ran away and thought, 'Man, he's weird…' Then Ranma walked back to his tent.

…..

'My…my heart won't stop beating,' Akane thought as she lie on her bed (A mat in other words). Akane placed a hand on her chest and felt her heart beating. 'Wow, he was so…handsome…I love his eyes…I love his…everything! Why did he have to be taken by someone else…I…I only wish that I could tell him I'm a girl…but he would send me back…'

'Oh why does he have to be so handsome…?' Akane thought as she sighed.

"Hey Akihiro, it's me, Ryoga, can I come in?" Ryoga said outside of her tent.

Akane looked down at her chest and saw that she was not covered up.

'Oh no, why did I have to wash my bed cover,' Akane thought cursing herself.

"Uh, just a second," Akane called out. Akane looked around her tent. She looked through her clothes and found the big shirt that Ryoga let her borrow. She quickly put it on and said, "Come in!"

Ryoga came in and looked around in Akane's room.

"Wow, pretty messy room Akihiro…" Ryoga said still looking around.

"Oh, yeah, I'm a pretty messy guy…" Akane said giving a fake smile.

"Um anyways, I was headed to the bathhouse that is across from here and I was wondering if you wanted to go…"

Akane thought for a moment, 'But if I go with Ryoga, he'll eventually find out that I'm a girl…but…I'm pretty stinky from training…so I might as well…'

"Uh sure!" Akane said with a smile.

"Okay, get your things ready, I'll be outside waiting…" Ryoga said then went outside her tent.

'Okay, I'm just going to take a quick bath, then leave, that's all I have to do…and be careful that I don't spoil my secret…"


	5. Chapter 5: The bathhouse trip!

"Well, here we are…" Ryoga said facing the bath house with Akane.

'Wow…what a big bathhouse!' Akane thought looking at the bathhouse.

"Well come on, let's go inside," Ryoga said as he gathered his stuff. Akane nodded and followed Ryoga.

'Oh no…it's a big bathhouse, there are probably going to be a lot of men in there…I got to be extra careful…' Akane thought following Ryoga.

When they entered the bathhouse, luckily there were no men in the bathhouse, just Ryoga and Akane.

"Are we the only ones here?" Akane asked looking around.

"Yeah, I guess so…" Ryoga said as he set his stuff down. Akane sighed in relief glad that no one was here. Then Ryoga got undress which made Akane quickly look away.

"Hey, is there something wrong Akihiro?" Ryoga asked putting on a towel around his waist.

"N-n-no…I-I-I-I just want to undress…somewhere else…I'm…sorry…I'm just not used to being nude in front of people…"

"Oh okay I understand, I'll take this side of the bath and you take that side…" Ryoga said smiling. Akane smiled and said, "Thank you Ryoga…" Then Akane went to the other side of the bath. Luckily that there were boulders between the big bath. Akane got undressed and wrapped a towel around her and went inside of the bath.

"Ahhh," Akane said enjoying the warm water touch her skin.

"Feels good, huh?" Ryoga asked on the other side of the bath.

"Mmhmmm," Akane answered her eyes almost closing.

Ryoga chuckled at Akane's response and went back to scrubbing himself.

"You know, I've never been in a bathhouse before…" Akane said trying to start a conversation.

"Really, I used to go to bathhouses a lot when I was little with my father…"

"It…it must be nice to have a father around when you need him…"

"Akihiro, do you have a father?"

"No…not really…"

"Why?"

"Well…let's just say that he is always that he's always busy and he doesn't have time to play with his own daug-err, I mean son…"

"Oh…I see…so you don't see him often…"

"Yes…"

"Oh…I'm so sorry, Akihiro…"

"It's okay…"

Soon, Ryoga stood up and said, "Well I'm done taking a bath, are you done yet Akihiro?"

"No…" Akane responded.

"Do you want me to wait for you?"

"No don't…I really like the bath…it's so warm…"

Ryoga chuckled a bit at Akane's response and said, "Alright Akihiro, then I'll see you tomorrow…" Then Ryoga left leaving Akane in the bathhouse all alone.

'Maybe a couple more minutes…then I'll get out of the bath…' Akane thought still enjoying the hot water on her skin.

Then, Akane heard the bathhouse door opening and closing and someone walking in. Akane was starting to freak out; she knew it wasn't Ryoga, he just left.

"Hello, anyone here?" someone called out.

Akane looked from behind the boulders and saw Ranma wrapping a towel on his waist.

'Oh no, oh no, oh no,' Akane thought freaking out. 'What am I going to do; I have to get of here!"

Akane was just about to leave when she accidentally made a splashing noise that startled Ranma.

"Who's there?" Ranma asked alarmed.

"Oh…uh…it's just me…Akihiro…"

"Akihiro," Ranma asked. "Oh, you scared me…"

"S-sorry…"

"No worries…" Ranma said. "So…what are you doing behind the boulders?"

"Oh…I uh…I…don't feel comfortable being nude in front of everyone…"

"Oh…I see…"

Soon, there was a moment of silence, an awkward silence which made Akane more uncomfortable.

'This feels so awkward…I can't take it anymore!'

"Uh…I'm done taking a bath…I…I'm going to go…" Akane said as she stood up and wrapped a towel around her.

"Oh…alright Akihiro…" Ranma responded.

Akane was about to leave when she accidentally tripped.

"Akihiro," Ranma yelled as he ran out of the bath and caught Akane just in time. "Are you alright?"

"Uh…I…I…I…I'm alright…"

Akane blushed at how strong Ranma's arms around her are. She looked down not wanting to face Ranma. After a couple of seconds, she looked back up again and saw that Ranma was staring at her.

"Alright," Ranma said. "Are you sure you're alright?"

"Y-y-yes…I'm sure…"

Then there was an awkward silence again.

"Uh…um…Bye!" Akane said as she dashed out of the door.

"Man…he is one weird guy…" Ranma said to himself then chuckled and went inside of the bath again.

Akane quickly ran to her tent. When she went inside of her tent, she placed a hand on her chest and felt her heart beat fast.

'Why…why does my heart beat every time I see him and every time I look at him in the eyes?' Akane thought.

'Oh…I love how I was in his arms…it felt so warm and safe…' Akane thought slightly blushing. 'I love his eyes…they were blue and looked calm…he's just so sweet…' Akane sighed as she thought of something else, something that upsets her. 'Too bad he already has a fiancée…sure, why wouldn't he, he is so handsome…' Akane sighed and got dressed in her P.J's and went to bed.

While Akane was lying on her bed, she thought of Ranma.

'Why does he have to have a fiancée?' Akane thought sadly. 'Ranma…I wish that I could tell you that I'm a girl...maybe I'll tell him someday…maybe when the war is over…I…I hope that…you can understand…'

**End of Chapter! Chapter 6 coming soon! Please review, I really like reviews! :D**


	6. Chapter 6: The war begins!

Akane woke up slowly when she heard the morning trumpet.

'Ugh…it's time to wake up…' Akane thought as she slowly got out of her bed. Akane yawned and gently rubbed her eyes.

"Akihiro, are you awake yet?" said someone outside of her tent.

Akane quickly recognized the voice and thought, "Ryoga…'

Before Akane said anything, she covered her body with her blanket then she said, "Uh, yeah, come in!"

Ryoga entered the tent with weapons in his hands and asked, "Hey Akihiro, do you want to practice with me?"

"Oh…uh…yeah sure," Akane said smiling.

"Cool, meet me outside," Ryoga said with a smile then left her tent.

Akane sighed and got out of her bed and got dressed. After she was done dressing, she went out of the tent and looked for Ryoga. When she was looking for Ryoga, she saw Ranma with her fiancée, Shampoo.

"Ranma, Shampoo wants a morning kiss from you!" Shampoo said as she puckered up.

"Oh, uh…okay…" Ranma said then kissed Shampoo's cheek.

"Oh Ranma, Shampoo planned a romantic night together tonight!"

"Oh…that's uh…great Shampoo!"

Akane sighed and looked down.

'Why am I so…sad?' Akane thought frowning.

"Hey Akihiro, over here," Ryoga called waving from across the field.

Akane smiled and walked over to Ryoga.

"Are you ready to practice Akihiro?" Ryoga asked smiling. Akane returned a smile and nodded.

They were just about to practice when a loud alarm was heard. Everyone just stopped what they were doing and looked around.

"Get into battle position, they're coming, they're coming, they found us!" yelled a soldier running from the other side of the field. Everyone did as they were told and went into position.

"Come on Akihiro, let's go!" Ryoga said as he started running.

"Okay!" Akane said as she followed Ryoga.

"Shampoo, you need to go somewhere safe…" Ranma said holding Shampoo's shoulders.

"But Shampoo wants to stay with you…" Shampoo said with a look of sadness.

"Shampoo, you have to go, now!"

Shampoo just stood there for a second but nodded and ran away to a safe place.

Ranma watched as Shampoo go to a safe place and went to position.

Akane was shaking, she was terrified. She was shaking violently and that was when Ryoga noticed. He just smiled and put an arm around her then said, "It's all going to okay Akihiro…"

Akane looked at him and smiled. Ryoga returned a smile and looked back at the middle of the field.

After a while of looking at the middle of the field, a soldier, the enemy, came running towards them. Behind the soldier running came a mob of soldiers.

Once the enemies got close enough, Ranma yelled, "CHARGE!"

Soon, everyone charged at the enemies. Akane ran as well.

'Okay Akane…you can do this…believe in yourself…you can do this!' Akane thought. Akane had courage in herself and charged with all her might. Everyone was fighting with the enemies, charging, striking, dodging, and hitting.

Akane was face to face with a big, scary looking man. Akane took a deep breath and charged at him. She punched him in the face as hard as she can and strike her weapon at him but missed. The big man punched Akane in the stomach which pained her. She fell on the floor with pain all over her stomach. Then she remembered what Ranma had taught her.

*Flashback*

"_Always defend yourself from the enemy…"_

*End of flashback*

'Right, when an enemy attacks, I have to use my weapon to defend myself, that's what weapons are for.

Akane stood up slowly with pain in her stomach but ignored it. Akane dodged at the man but once again missed. The man was going to throw another punch at Akane when she held her weapon in front of her.

"Huh?" The man said looking at his hand that he used for punching. Akane looked at the man and chuckled.

"Got you…" Akane said smirking and kicked the man's nuts (The private part, I don't want to say it!). The man fell on the floor with his hands on his nuts with pain. Akane then punched the man in the face and fell backwards.

"Never mess with me!" Akane yelled and ran to fight another soldier.

After a while of fighting, the enemies had fewer soldiers, so that meant that the Japanese soldiers were winning. Akane grew tired of fighting so many men. She looked at Ranma who was fighting another strong man. He threw his punch at Ranma but he defended himself with his weapon. The man punched Ranma once again but this time harder. The punch was so hard that he broke Ranma's weapon and Ranma fell backwards on his back.

The man chuckled and said, "I finally got Ranma Saotome…" The man walked up to Ranma who was lying on the floor just looking at him trying not to show fear.

"To this day I will kill you and I will win!" The man said with an evil smile on his face. He lifted his sword in the air and was about to strike it at Ranma's heart.

Ranma closed his eyes waiting for death to come upon him when he heard two weapons clank.

He opened his eyes and saw Akane defending him.

"Aki…Akihiro…" Ranma said as he looked at Akane.

"Don't you ever hurt Ranma!" Akane yelled still blocking Ranma.

"Oh, tough guy here, huh, you want to battle, let's battle!" The man said with an evil smile on his face.

The man drew his sword away and got into his fighting position. Akane got into her fighting position as well and waited for the battle to begin.

The man and Akane stood in their battle positions waiting for each other's attack. After a while, the man finally ran and dodged after Akane. Akane thought he was dodging at her shoulder but she was mistaken by the sword striking her stomach.

Akane fell down in pain with her hands on her stomach.

"Akihiro!" Ranma yelled.

The man chuckled and said, "Pathetic kid…"

The man was about to walk over to Ranma when he fell to the ground by Akane tripping him. The man sat up slowly and tried to look for Akane but she punched him in the face and fell back down again.

"Don't ever…hurt Ranma again…" Akane said still holding her stomach.

The man stood up slowly and scoffed.

"Ranma Saotome, this time you won this battle, but I will be back with a bigger army, an army so big that soon you will surrender!" The man said. "Men, let's go!"

The man then ran away with his men following him.

Ranma stood up and watched him run away. "Cowards…" Ranma said to himself then walked up to Akane.

"Akihiro…you…saved my life," Ranma said looking at Akane with a smile. "Thank you…"

"It's no prob-" Akane was cut off by pain taking over her stomach. Akane fell on the floor with her hands on her stomach.

"Akihiro, are you okay, Akihiro!" Ranma said kneeling down next to Akane. Akane looked at Ranma and saw that it was slowly turning into back. Akane was about to fall on her back when Ranma caught her on time.

"Akihiro, answer me, are you okay, Akihiro!"

"Quick, we need to take him to the nursery tent," said a soldier. "He's losing a lot of blood!"

Ranma nodded and carried Akane bridal style (I know, awkward huh?) and ran to the nursery tent.

'Please be alright Akihiro…' Ranma thought as he ran to the nursery tent.


	7. Chapter 7: Real idenity Revealed!

'Hmm, where am I?' Akane thought as she slowly opened her eyes. She squinted her eyes when a bright light shined on her face.

Akane slowly sat up. Grunting because of the pain still on her stomach, she looked around and saw no one in the tent.

'The last thing I remembered was blacking out and hearing Ranma calling my name…speaking of which… I wonder Where Ranma is?'

"Akihiro, are you awake?" asked someone outside her tent.

"Uh…yeah…who is it?" Akane asked holding her stomach.

"It's Ranma…may I come in?"

"Uh sure!"

"Hey Akihiro, are you alr-" Ranma stopped speaking when he looked at Akane's chest.

"What's…what's wrong?" Akane asked.

Ranma didn't respond, he was still looking at Akane's chest and blushing.

Akane looked down and saw that she wasn't covered (It DOESN'T mean she's not wearing anything, I think you know what I mean!)

Akane quickly pulled the covers over her chest. "I…I could explain!"

"You're…a girl…" Ranma said now giving her a serious look.

Akane looked down and slowly nodded.

"So…all this time…you were lying to me…"

"R-Ranma, I'm sorry…I…"

"What's your real name…this time…your real name…"

"My name…is…Akane…"

"P-princess Akane?"

Akane frowned and slowly nodded.

"W-what are you doing here; you are not allowed to be here!" Ranma yelled. "Come on, let's take you back!"

Ranma walked over to Akane's bed and took her hand.

"W-wait, I-I can't go back!"

"Why not, you're a princess and once your father finds out that you were out here in the battlefield, he will kill me!"

"N-no he won't…I…I will accept the consequences…I will tell him the truth and tell him that it wasn't your fault…"

"Well, it doesn't matter, you're the princess of Japan and they are not allowed to be here or else they get hurt or wounded in battle!"

"No, I want to be here," Akane said with full of confidence in her voice. "Ever since I was a little girl, I've always wanted to be a Japanese warrior…not just some princess who always need to be safe and hide away from the real world…I want to prove to the world that I'm not only a princess but a strong person…a brave person…please…I beg of you…can I…stay here?"

Akane looked at Ranma with pleading eyes. Ranma blushed at how pretty she looked. He sighed and responded, "Alright…you can stay here…"

Akane squealed in delight and unexpectedly hugged Ranma. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

"You're welcome…but under one condition…"

"What is that?"

"You must promise me that you will be safe when the war is over and go back home safely without any injuries…"

Akane smiled and nodded.

"Okay…you can stay…"

Ranma left the tent and left a happy Akane.

"Thank you Ranma…" Akane whispered as she smiled softly.

…

"Aki-I mean, princess Akane…are you sure you want to tell the whole camp that you're a girl?" Ranma asked crossing his arms.

"Yeah…I want everyone to know that I'm a girl…not just a boy…" Akane said with a smile.

Ranma sighed and said, "Alright then…"

Akane smiled and nodded. Ranma handed Akane the microphone and waited for Akane to speak.

"Um…attention warriors…" Akane said slightly smiling.

"Hey it's Akihiro, he's alright!" exclaimed one of the soldiers. Soon, every soldier started clapping for Akane's bravery for saving the day.

Akane smiled a bit and said, "Uh thank you…there's something I wanted to tell you…something that I kept for a while when I was here in this camp…"

The soldiers looked at Akane which made her more nervous.

"W-well….what I wanted to tell you guys is…uh…is that I'm…I'm a…girl…"

The soldiers stayed silent for a moment and stared at Akane. Akane could feel herself sweating and shaking with fear.

One soldier broke the silence by yelling, "Ha, good one Akihiro…if you're a girl, then prove it!"

Akane sighed and thought, 'I can't believe I'm doing this…'

Akane slowly took off her armor top (and yes, she is wearing a shirt under!) and showed them her chest.

The soldiers gasped and looked at Akane.

"Yes…that's right…I'm a girl…" Akane said as she put back on her armor. "My real name is Akane…Princess Akane…and I'd appreciate it if all of you would treat me like a normal person and not some kind of royal person…and I will be staying here with all of you till the war is over…because…I want to be more than a princess…I want to be an ordinary woman…that is all I have to say…"

The soldiers were quiet for a long time. Ranma walked up to Akane and gently took the microphone and said, "Now, I want all of you to treat Princess Akane the same way as you treat other people…understand? You're all dismissed!"

The soldiers did as they were told and walked away to continue their training.

Akane sighed and turned to Ranma. "Thank you Ranma…"

Ranma blushed when Akane smiled at him. "Uh, it's no problem…Princess Akane…"

Akane giggled a bit and said, "You don't have to call me, 'Princess Akane', you can just call me Akane…just like I call you Ranma…"

Ranma smiled. "Alright Akane…"

Ranma and Akane were looking at each other and smiling to one another until a voice stopped them from looking at each other.

"Ranma...what you doing…" said someone behind them. Ranma turned around and saw Shampoo glaring at Akane.

"Oh…you must be…Ranma's fiancée…" Akane said with a fake smile. "My name is Princess Akane…but you can just call me Akane…"

Akane smiled and stick out her hand for Shampoo to shake. Shampoo looked at Akane's hand and scoffed.

"Shampoo don't shake with strangers…" Shampoo said as she crossed her arms and looked away.

"Oh…" Akane said now frowning and putting her hand down.

"Now Shampoo, there is no need to be rude…" Ranma said smiling down at his fiancé. Ranma turned around to Akane and said, "Well, we must be going…see you later Akane…"

Akane gave another fake smile and responded, "Yeah, I'll see you later…Ranma…"

Ranma gave one last smile and walked away with Shampoo linked to his arm.

Akane frowned once they were out of sight and started walking away as well.

'Why does he have to be engaged…' Akane thought sadly then sighed.

Akane was walking back to her tent when she bumped into someone. She looked up and saw Ryoga.

"Oh, Ryoga…I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bump into you…" Akane said as she stood up.

"No, princess, the apology is all mine, I didn't mean to get in your way!" Ryoga said as he bowed.

Akane giggled a bit and said, "You don't have to call me 'princess', you can just call me Akane…"

"Oh okay…" Ryoga said looking at the ground. "So…you were a girl all this time huh?"

Akane smiled a bit and nodded. "Yes…I'm sorry if I didn't tell you all this time…"

"It's alright…p-princess…"

Ryoga looked up at Akane and blushed at her beauty and looked at the ground again.

Akane smiled and said, "Is there anything wrong?"

"Uh…uh…uh…" Ryoga stuttered. "H-here…I get these for you…"

Ryoga then handed a bouquet of flowers. Akane gasped then smile at the beautiful flowers.

"Awww thank you Ryoga…these are beautiful…" Akane said as she gladly took the flowers from Ryoga who was now smiling.

"I-I'm glad that you like them…" Ryoga said smiling shyly. "Well…I…I have to go…bye!"

Then Ryoga left leaving Akane smiling. Akane looked down at the flowers that Ryoga gave her and giggled. 'Ryoga is defiantly sweet…'

**End of Chapter 7, chapter 8 coming soon! Please review, makes me happy! :D**


	8. Chapter 8: A day with Ranma

'I can't believe it's already been a month since I arrived here…' Akane thought as she walked around the camp site. 'For some reason…I feel so happy here…'

Akane smiled slowly when she remembered Ranma keeping her promise to not tell her father that she was here.

'And I still can't believe that Ranma kept a promise instead of sending me back…' Akane thought fully smiling.

Her smile slowly faded away when she thought of Ranma and Shampoo together holding each other.

'Why…why do I have this feeling inside my heart…it makes me…sad…' Akane thought as she placed her hand on her chest.

In the corner of her eye, she saw Ranma sitting against a tree all by himself.

'Hmm, why is Ranma by himself?' Akane thought. Akane took a deep breath and walked next to Ranma.

"Uh…hello Ranma…" Akane said with a smile.

Ranma slowly looked up and smiled slightly.

"Hey Akane…" Ranma said with a small smile then looked away.

Akane noticed Ranma's expression and sat down next to him.

"Hey Ranma…what's wrong?" Akane asked sweetly.

"It's…nothing…" Ranma said almost silently.

"Come on…I know that expression anywhere…my dad has that expression at times when he is sad…" Akane said. "Come on, please tell me…"

Ranma sighed. "Alright, I'll tell you…" Ranma said now looking at Akane. "It happened this afternoon…after I went to get something and came back…I saw Shampoo…flirting with one of the soldiers…t-that's why I…I'm sad…"

Akane frowned a little. "Oh Ranma…I'm…I'm so sorry…"

"It's…alright…I just need time to…be alone…"

Akane frowned at the sight of Ranma. He looked hurt and upset.

'What do I do…I…need to cheer him up somehow…but how…' Akane thought. Akane think for a minute and finally found a solution.

Akane suddenly started humming a tune and started to sing softly. Ranma looked away from the view of the mountains and looked at Akane strangely.

"Ugh…what are you doing Akane?" Ranma asked.

"Uh…just trying to cheer you up…" Akane said with a smile. "I…I used to sing to my dad when he was down and it cheered him right up…" Akane said with a smile. "But…I guess it's strange for you…sorry…"

Akane looked away from Ranma and looked at the mountains. Ranma smiled a bit.

"I…I don't think it's weird at all…" Ranma said with a smile.

Akane looked away from the mountains and at Ranma.

"R-really?" Akane asked.

"Yeah and…I think you sing great…" Ranma said with a smile still on his face.

Akane flushed a little and looked away.

"Uh t-thank you…" Akane said still looking away.

Ranma only smiled and leaned back on the tree.

Akane slowly stood up and was about to leave when Ranma said, "Hey Akane…"

Akane turned around and asked, "Yeah?"

"Thanks for…cheering me up…"

"You're welcome…"

Akane slowly walked away and stopped when she thought of something. Akane turned around and looked at Ranma who was watching the mountains again.

"Uh…Ranma?"

"Yeah?"

"I was wondering if you wanted…to take a walk with me?"

Ranma stared at Akane for a second. Closing her eyes, Akane waited for rejection. Her eyes widened in shock when she heard Ranma said, "Sure…"

"O-oh, great!" Akane said with a smile.

Ranma slowly stood up from where he was sitting and walked up to Akane.

"Let's go!" Ranma said with a smile.

Akane smiled brightly and nodded. Ranma and Akane walked all around the camp site chatting, laughing, and enjoying each other's company.

…

"Wow Ranma, today was so much fun!" Akane said smiling.

"Yeah, I agree with you," Ranma said returning a smile. "I never had this much fun in my life…"

"Me neither…." Akane said.

"What? You're a princess, you must have done something fun…getting what you want, going everywhere…."

"Yes but…to tell you the truth…it wasn't much fun…it was actually pretty boring…my dad was busy all the time and I had no one to play with me…"

"Oh…I'm so sorry…"

"That's alright…"

With that said, there was a moment of silence, awkward silence. Neither one of them knew how to start a conversation.

Akane then glanced at the beautiful scene in front of them.

"Look Ranma!" Akane exclaimed as she pointed at the beautiful sunset.

Ranma looked to where Akane was pointing at and smiled.

"Wow…it's…beautiful…" Ranma said looking at the sunset with awe.

Ranma and Akane sat down and watched the sun set down enjoying each other's company. There was still a moment of silence but this time, a comforting silence. They were silent for a moment until Akane said, "The sunset is beautiful…"

"Yes you are…" Ranma said looking at Akane.

"What?" Akane asked turning to Ranma.

"Oh err, I mean, yes, the sunset is…is beautiful…"

Akane smiled and said, "Thank you…for letting me stay here…"

"It's no problem," Ranma said returning a smile. "And…I want to thank you for…saving my life..."

"You're welcome," Akane said with a smile.

"So, how is your stomach doing?"

"Um, okay…I guess…"

"I'm sorry that I couldn't protect you…a princess…"

"It's alright, don't worry about it…"

"No…it's not…" Ranma said as he took one of Akane's hands. "I promise…I will protect you…to keep you safe…"

"Ranma…thank you…"

Ranma and Akane looked at each other for a moment. Ranma leaned down to Akane. She blushed at how close he was to her face…and how handsome he was.

Ranma and Akane's lips were getting closer and closer until Shampoo yelled, "Hiya Ranma!"

Ranma and Akane quickly broke apart and looked away from each other blushing.

"Ranma, Shampoo cooked some…what happen Ranma?" Shampoo asked looking at Ranma's blush.

"U-uh n-nothing…" Ranma said embarrassed to face Akane. "Uh, g-good night Akane…"

"U-uh y-yeah…good…night…" Akane said looking away from him.

Ranma stood up quickly and walked back to camp with Shampoo.

After watching Ranma leave, Akane placed her hand on her chest for her heart was beating fast.

'Was…was Ranma about to kiss me?' Akane thought blushing a little. Akane's heart beats faster and faster every time she thinks of him.

'…And why is my heart beating whenever I think of him?' Akane thought. 'I…I think I might be…in love with him…'

**End of chapter! Next chapter coming soon! Please review, makes me happy! :D**


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